


The Sawmill

by IndianonJones



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Gore, F/M, Forests, Genderswap, Horror, Rule 63, Slasher, Survival Horror, Urban Exploration, Visceral, abandoned buildings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:33:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndianonJones/pseuds/IndianonJones
Summary: Sam and Kris find themselves exploring the remains of a long-forgotten sawmill. But as day turns to night, and it's only them alone in the woods, there may be someone lurking in the shadows...
Relationships: Kris & Sam (Deltarune), Kris & Susie (Deltarune), Kris/Sam (Deltarune), Kris/Susie (Deltarune)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	The Sawmill

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy y'all, Indianon here. I come bringing a frightfully good treat: a Halloween tale that I hope you guys will enjoy. :)

A red, beaten up station wagon traverses along a dirt path through a dense forest of towering pine trees. Gravel crunches underneath it’s worn tires as the sound of the chugging engine amplifies in the ambiance of the forestry as it travels along to its destination.

“So, you excited to check out this crazy place I found, Kris?” Sam briefly peers his right to see the timid human in the passenger’s seat, wearing her usual green sweater with a yellow stripe and brown pants. Kris, who’s looking out the window and into the forest, looks back to him and gives the dragon a small nod and a smile, showing her enthusiasm for whatever this new location Sam has discovered. If it’s anything like the little hangout spot he made in the woods back home or the ominous bunker by the end of town, it must be something good, she thinks.

Sam gives her a big smile as he looks back at the path, but his ears begin to pick up the grainy voice of a news reporter on the radio that is currently spieling off about something. “In other news: local travelers and park rangers in the area are finding an odd shortage of local wildlife – including rabbits, foxes, deer, squirrels, and other fauna – in the forest area. While experts believe that it’s due to hunters or predators in the area, these witness reports also describe strange piles of bloody pelts and bone-”

Sam has enough of the reporter’s long-winded report and decides to change the channel to something a little more lively. Luckily, Kris must’ve not listened to the radio, making her optimism undeterred.

Sam and Kris have been driving for nearly an hour at this point, initially driving down one of the main roads that took them out and away from that small speck of a town surrounded by a cavalcade of autumn trees. There were a few “questionable” directions that Sam took and are currently taking them through the forest and to their destination.

Kris thinks nothing much of the odd directions they went through to get here, considering that Sam has always been on the more wild side of exploration. Plus, the scenic view of the forest they were in is a pleasant sight to behold on its own. With the fresh scent of pine filling Kris’ nose and the warm sunbeams shining through the branches, she believes that this will be great to spend time with Sam, almost like a little date of sorts, which brings a blush to her face.

Sam himself is more than excited to show off this exciting spot to Kris that he found a while back while taking a usual drive to take his mind off of troubles since that always seemed to help him relax. All he said to her was that it was, “Nothing you’d never seen before,” and that there were lots to see.

By then, the gravel path went up a slight incline that winded through the condensed foliage. An old, rusted-up wire fence begins to show itself, stretching across the span of the forest and leading the path to head to the right. After a few minutes, the trail eventually makes a small, quick turn to the left, where Sam remembers where the gated entrance was.

But instead of a regular wire gate closing off their destination, there is a tremendous, monolithic wooden gate whose supports to either side look like they must've come from giant oak trees. The gate itself is made out of various planks of wood, which have been gouged in several places by woodpeckers and eaten away at the base by burrowing insects.

The look of the gate somewhat puts Kris a bit on edge given its appearance, but looking at Sam shows that he’s happy to see its presence, showing her that there isn’t anything to be scared about. “Well, it’s just behind this gate,” he informs her as he gets out of the car. “Lemme just open it up so we can drive insi-”

The dragon went to a halt as he saw that the gate was shackled up by rusty, heavy chains, all held together by an equally rusty-looking padlock. “Hmmm…” Sam bends down and inspects the lock thoroughly, somewhat confused by its presence. Well, this certainly wasn’t there before.

“...I-Is everything alright?” Kris softly asks at the dragon, the first time she physically says something since he picked her up at her house. Sam quickly turns around to see the human in his car.

“Yeah, yeah! Everything’s good,” he reassures her. “Just that there’s a lock holding this gate shut.”

Sam slowly turns his attention towards the trunk of his car, the gears in his head beginning to turn.

“And I think I know just how to open it up,” he mutters to himself. He makes his way over the trunk of his car and pops it open, Kris now unable to see him through the rear-view mirror.

Inside, there’s a toolbox among the few other items inside the compartment. The toolbox was a little gift given to Sam by Asgore in case he ever wanted to fix up cars with him, which was a nice sentiment from the old goat. He slides it closer to him and opens it up to reveal its contents inside. He rummages around for a moment until he finds what he needs, letting out a small “Aha!”

Sam walks into Kris’ view, this time with two large gear wrenches in hand. He gets down on one knee and carefully slides the wrenches into the shackle of the padlock in a way that has them lever against each other at a ninety-degree angle. Then, with his draconic strength, Sam squeezes the wrenches together, causing the immense outward force to break the already weakened lock with an audible *SNAP.*

The now broken lock falls to the ground, and Sam walks back as the rusted chains quickly follow suit with a clattering thud. Happy with this, the dragon grasps the wooden doors and swings them open to reveal their path. He then walks back to the trunk, throws the tools back into the toolbox, and slams it shut.

Sam jumps back into the car, smiling to himself at how clever he is. ‘I wonder how Sam learned to do that…’ Kris thinks to herself. Luckily, Sam answers her subconscious question by saying, “I knew that video online would be handy to know” Sam looks over to Kris, “Glad I did. Otherwise, we’d have to jump the fence!”

Sam’s teeth show themselves as he snickers, enjoying his coarse jest. Kris becomes a little concerned if what they were doing was legal since the chains and lock seemed to indicate that where they’re going is off-limits, and voices her concern to Sam by pointing at the lock with a worrying face.

“Relax, Kris,” he explains, “it wasn’t gated like this the last time I was here, and no one was around here as well! I highly doubt that anyone ‘round here would care enough to lock up to where we’re headin’ unless it’s some old hermit or some punks tryna keep us out.”

With that, Sam revs up the car and turns into the newly opened path. Kris is still a little off-put by the chains that kept the gate closed, but she tries to brush it off and follows what Sam said.

They drive a short distance down the path and find themselves nearing an opening that led out of the forest. The giddy look on Sam’s scaly face shows that they’re ever so close to this special surprise. They make it out of the treeline, and Kris is blown away by what she sees.

It was a wide-open landscape, about the same or even twice the size of Ebott City’s park center. Kris has no words to describe how amazed she is; she’s practically stunned. The human would never guess that Sam would find something like this on his travels.

“Eh? Eh? I told you that you’d love it!” Sam prompts, a proud and smug veneer forming along his rigid face as he shakes Kris around with a powerful hand on her shoulder.

Kris could only utter out a single “W-Wow…” as she is currently too occupied soaking in the scenery.

Sam twists the keys and pulls them from the ignition, putting the car to a complete stop. “C’mon, there’s more I wanna show you.” He opens his door and gets out, making his way over to Kris’ side and opening her door to let her out, like a proper gentleman.

Kris smiles and nods her head as thanks as Sam firmly slams the door shut. Kris looks at the back seat of the car and notices the large backpack that slumps idly on the leather seats. ‘I wonder what Sam has inside that, seems awfully important.’ she thinks.

A newer thought pops into Kris’ head, and one big enough for her to speak up once more. “D-Do you think we’ll need our phones…?” Kris quietly asks, remembering that her phone was in the center console. Sam shakes his head as he says, “Nah, it ain’t like we’ll be out here for that long. Plus, I want you to soak up the place with your own eyes!”

Though objections sent red flags in the air, Kris takes Sam’s word and decides not to worry about her phone if they aren’t going to be out long. The pair begin to make their way up a small incline, with grass that went halfway up their calves. Once they reach the top, Kris is awestruck as her eyes set on a view that’s even more immaculate than the forest she drove through moments earlier.

It’s a stunning view of a large, boggy lake, probably half a mile in size. Its dark, greenish-blue waters are calm, with not a single thing to disturb it. Large skims of moss and other plant material scum its surface, while tufts of snap tail reeds speckle the shore.

By the very edge of one lake is an old, tiny dock that leads a few feet into the lake; the wood that supports it is weathered and suffering from severe wood rot.

All of this is blanketed by an afternoon mist, giving everything a hazy filter and making rays of sunlight pierce through the fog like the beacon of a lighthouse at sea.

Kris’s mouth is slightly agape at the sight; she’s at a loss for words. The look on the human’s face is a victory that brings the dragon beside her great satisfaction. “I knew you’d like it,” Sam says with a proud smugness to it.

“Sam… I-It’s… amazing.” Kris stutters over her words as she tries to put them together, her mind too busy looking at the immaculate view. “I know, right?” Sam exclaims as he gestures his hands at the amazing view.

“Oh! And there’s somethin’ else I wanna show you.” Sam declares. While Kris wants to take a few more minutes to look at the scenery, she sees how excited the dragon is to show her whatever else he wants to show her.

Kris gestures with her hand to lead the way. “Alright, follow me!” Sam is just as excited as a kid in a candy store, and like the parent, Kris follows suit. ‘I should start holding onto my sketchbook if Sam is planning to take me to more spots like this.’ Kris warmly thinks as she makes a mental note.

The dragon and the human walk around the right side of the lake, passing the dock along the way. As they trek further to the side of the open, grassy area, something large begins to make an appearance through the billowing fog.

Off to the right side of the lake and tucked behind a few trees, sit two large structures hiding in the midst of the hazy fog. It’s hard for them to make out at first, but once they get closer, they have a better idea of what they are.

The one to the left is what seems to be a warehouse-looking building built out of brick, with smashed windows and some metal tubes protruding from its side and connecting to its next-door counterpart.

The building that sits in the middle was a towering structure that seems to be welded together in large plates of rusted-out sheet metal. Some of the metal pallets must have fallen over the years, exposing a large chunk of the building’s metallic skeleton.

At the very top of it is a large tubular slide that curves out like a snake’s tongue and into a large, man-made crevasse that must’ve once been filled with water, but is now empty save for a few mold-riddled puddles.

Right next to the metal building sits a much smaller structure that spans as wide as a couple of storage units. It seems like it's some form of shipping station, perhaps?

Unlike most of the short and neat grass scape near the lake, the grounds around the area are nothing short of an overgrown mess, with the native species of flora that belong there. Tall blades of grass, shrubbery, and other flora grow rampant, with stinking black mushrooms hiding on the dirt floor.

Overall, the place looks decrepit and abandoned, almost lost in time and forgotten by the world as nature was in the middle of reclaiming its original space.

“What is this place?” Kris asks, her voice clutched with curiosity and slight unease as she does so.

“This is the place I wanted to show you!” answers Sam. “I wasn’t sure what it was when I first found it, but then I did a bit of diggin’ when I got back home, and it turns out this used to be an old sawmill, like where they used to cut all the lumber n’ shit. Must’ve been here when Hometown was first constructed.”

The feeling of tranquility goes away as soon as the area enters the human’s line of sight. Kris can’t explain it. It’s a strange mixture of intrigue, curiosity, excitement, and dread. She can’t explain why she feels dread, but she does. She also notices that the air surrounding there got thicker. While one would chalk it up as being humidity, the change seems too quick. It doesn't seem gradual enough to be natural.

Sam then remarks, “Say, I never actually went inside these places when I first got here.”

“Why? Bit of a scaredy dragon?” A coy smile forms on Kris' face, unable to help herself from taking a jab at her fire-breathing friend.

“ _HA!_ Yeah, right!” Sam cackles, slightly surprised by his human’s spit-fire response. “I’m just saying that ‘cause I thought it would be cool to explore this place together. I doubt we’ll find anything interesting since it seems like others were here and picked the place clean, but hey: nothin’ ventured nothin’ gained, right?”

Kris couldn’t argue with that logic, and so, the two delinquents embark on an exciting journey through the long-forgotten sawmill. They approach the brick building, which Sam explains that it used to be the power room.

They find the building’s facade littered in graffiti, where the original paint hadn’t peeled and chipped away. The front doors to it aren’t just open either; they’ve been taken off their hinges and are lying to the side on the ground. Sam chalks it up to be vandals or squatters. There is some sort of message sloppily painted in a deep, red crimson above the gaping maw where the doors once stood.

**GO AWAY**

This foreboding warning sent a chilling nerve down Kris’ back, but Sam just chuckles under his breath, thinking of it being no more than just a scary message made by some edgy punk.

With the surrounding area looking like a scene straight out of a horror movie – what with the low-hanging fog and grey sky, Kris begins to have second thoughts about going inside.

Sam notices Kris’ concern “Listen, Kris, I get that you’re scared, but you should know better than anyone that with me around, there’s nothin’ to be worried about.”

“After all,” says the dragon, “I wouldn’t let anyone or anything lay a hand on that pretty lil’ head of yours.” The mauve reptile smiles at her as he pounds his fist into his hand. Sam’s display of strength not only makes Kris giggle but brings her a sense of reassurance, knowing that he wouldn’t let anything harm her. She inches closer to her dragon as a means of bringing her even more comfort, which Sam certainly isn’t going to complain about.

With renewed confidence, the two slowly head inside the building. Instantly, the smell of metal and oil penetrates their noses. The outside light shines from the smashed windows, exposing the heavy motes of dust that chaotically dance in the air.

Inside, they see a large vintage-era generator in the middle of the run-down building; a huge metal wheel connected to a series of pistons that is attached to a smaller motor-like device. On the opposite end are more generators, and adjacent to where they enter is a control panel of dials, meters, and electrical switches.

Kris and Sam walk around and explore the place, their footsteps on the cracked concrete echoing throughout the echo chamber. Kris goes and inspects the giant metallic wheel that once spun to generate power, wondering how such a piece of machinery worked.

One thing that she notices is how… clean it is. In fact, it seems cleaner than most of the other generators. It’s rusty, of course, but considering everything else in the vicinity has a layer of dust, it’s incredibly odd to see that it’s clean enough to swipe a finger over and see no trail.

‘How would this be the only clean thing in this place?’ Kris thinks.

“Hey, Kris!” Sam’s echoing voice grabs Kris’ out of her attention. She leans aside to see that Sam is by the control panel, messing with the various levers on the control panel. “Check it out. These things still move around!” Sam demonstrates by gripping one of the levers and pulling it down, creaking with a whine from years of neglect until it clicks to the opposite end.

“Wanna give it a go?” Sam asks. The thought of messing with buttons does sound intriguing… eh, why the hell not? Kris makes an easy decision and joins her draconic companion in his escapades. Both turn dials, flick switches, and turn like mad scientists.

“Who knew pushing buttons would be fun?” Sam rhetorically asks, to which – one again – Kris coyly replies with, “It’s fun when I push your buttons.” a flirtatious smile forms on her face. “Oh yeah, I know all too well that you do.” Sam gives her a playful but stern glare as Kris snickers.

After getting their fill of acting like they’re in a Frankenstein movie, the two decide to head off to the large metal building. The first thing they notice when entering inside is the complex machinery that starts in the center that then stems throughout like a nervous system. The inner-workings of the building were that of a skeletal, honeycomb-like interior with only a few sets of floors. Another thing is that the air itself was different, holding a much more old and metallic smell to it, to the point where Sam wonders if there’s rust floating in the air.

“I think how this place worked was that the logs would be sent in here, up some kind of pulley or something to the top, and then sent down that slide into that pool to the saws. They call it a ‘flume’ or somethin'.” Sam explains as his eyes set upon the narrow and rickety staircase that leads to the top.

Kris splits off from Sam and steps towards a short and narrow hallway. The brick wall was plastered with graffiti of various designs and vulgarity, much like the power room. She makes it to a room that seems to be a recreational area, as the pitch dark room contains a shambling table, turned over chairs with broken legs, and a counter littered with junk and insects. The room is a total mess, as broken or empty beer bottles and other forms of refuse litter the wooden floor.

What is very eerie to Kris is that it almost looks as if everything was seemingly abandoned in the blink of an eye; like the workers suddenly evacuated or vanished. Coupled with the ominous sounds emanating from the building, it really made the human’s skin riddled with goosebumps. Kris places one foot forward in an attempt to walk in, but the moment her foot touches it, it creaks and squeaks something fierce. Kris isn’t going to risk collapsing through the unstable floorboards and cautiously steps back.

“Yo, Kris!” Sam booms with an echo accentuating his voice. Kris, wondering what the compassion is, heads back to where Sam is to see that he isn’t there. “Up here!” he states. She looks up to see Sam currently walking up the dangerous-looking staircase. “Check out how loud my voice is!” Sam’s voice bounces around the hollow chamber, an ethereal thrill swelling in the dragon.

Kris, however, is more worried about the unstable looking stairs giving way, as they look like they could collapse under any kind of weight, so Sam being able to climb them with ease was astounding, if not incredibly stupid.

“S-Sam, please be careful…!” Kris pleads to him as loud as she could, her naturally soft tone unable to go all that loud.

“Daaah, you’re worrying too much, dork.” Sam playfully teases the human below. “Ain’t like it's that high up anyway,” he explains while standing on a rusty grid that was the only thing protecting him from a 20-foot free-fall.

To prove Kris wrong, Sam takes another few steps up the stairs. “See? I told you it’s sa-” all of a sudden, a low, metallic groan emerged from the weakened metal structure, even jittering the very steps Sam is standing on, sending a warning to the careless dragon about continuing further.

On second thought, Sam quickly realizes that the broken, creaking, one-breath-away-from disintegrating stairs… probably weren’t suited for his weight. So before he decides to go up any further, he carefully makes his way back down. Even with her hair in the way, Sam could feel the glare that Kris was eyeing him with.

“...S-Shut up, Kris.” Sam mumbles with a chagrined tone as Kris giggles and pats his back.

The duo explores more of the logging station, and in their expedition, they find even more rooms similar to the one Kris initially found. However, unlike that one, which had a high amount of detritus, the other ones seem organized and clean; almost as if someone has cleaned them up moments prior to their arrival. It doesn’t bode well with Kris given her previous findings, but Sam reassures her that it’s still just the result of other people wanting the place to be scary.

A bit more exploring occurs, and they come across an open section of the concrete floor that has a red ladder descending into it. Sam crouches down and peaks underneath, noticing that it’s practically pitch-black down there save for the light coming from the entrance.

“Wanna go down there?” Sam asks as he looks back up to Kris.

Kris looks down at the ominous hole in the ground and feels a distressing sense in her stomach. Kris is not a big fan of dark, enclosed places, especially if she’s alone. And although she has Sam with her, it wasn’t enough to stop her anxiety from rising.

“I-I don’t think we should, Sam. We don’t have any flashlights.”

Sam thinks for a moment, looking at the worrying expression on Kris’s face. He can tell that she didn’t like the idea at all, and much as he loves to egg Kris on into doing things with him, he isn’t stupid to put his most valuable treasure in a situation she doesn’t want to be in. “...Y-Yeah you’re right. I think I left a flashlight in the car, but it’s probably just more dirt n’ shit down there.”

“C’mon, there’s still other stuff that we can check out,” Sam says as he gets up and motions for Kris to follow him, a reassuring smile across his face.

Kris is relieved by Sam’s wise decision and is more than happy to get away from that hole to who knows where. But as they head out, Kris swears that, from the hole, she can barely – just barely… hear the sound of some sort of metallic squeaking.

“C’mon Kris!” Sam hollars as he’s already outside. Kris shakes her head and puts it off as her mind making her hear things since she is already creeped out by the place.

Kris makes it outside and catches up with Sam, who breathes in the fresh forest air before letting out a deep sigh from his nostrils “Ahhh, finally! Some fresh air that won’t end us up needin’ tetanus shots.”

Last on the list is the shed-like structure across from the power room, and they head over to the rightmost opening. “This is probably where the finished wood would get shipped off.” Sam says, who notices shipping pallets stacked to the side and the fact that there is no ramp on the other side of the opening. Kris inspects the wooden pallets, seeing that time and weather have affected them to severe wood rot and molding. Kris places a finger on the pallet, and even with the slightest force, it disintegrates the area into a soft mush, eliciting a disgusted face from her.

Sam looks for a place to sit down, but between sitting on a dead leaf carpet, getting broken shards of glass stuck in his ass or relying on a questionable stack of wood, it’s hard for him to do so. During his epic search for a place to sit, Kris manages to get a spider to crawl onto her hand, which is tucked into her sleeve. She looks in fascination at the coin-sized spider’s many features; from its multiple eyes to its complex light and brown color scheme, it’s another reminder to her that she needs to keep her sketchbook on her person.

“Hey Sam, look at what I found,” Kris announces to her companion as she stretches her hand out. Sam, who has his back to her, turns around to be met with the eight-eyed fellow.

“ _GAAH!_ ” Sam screams in a way that is a few octaves higher for someone like him and leaps back like a startled cat. It even spooks Kris enough to make her accidentally fling the spider into the open field. “What the hell Kris?!”

Kris certainly didn’t expect a reaction like that to come out of the ex-bully, but it’s enough to make the human go into a giggle-fit. Sam however was not laughing. “It ain’t funny Kris! Y’know how I am with spiders!” Sam yells angrily, attempting to gain back his masculinity. Now feeling like his body is teeming with bugs, he swats at his clothes as his body twists around. This ants in your pants dance moves him to the side of the building, where his eyes then set on something that makes him freeze.

“Whoa… Kris, check this out!” Sam calls, his eyes still transfixed. Kris isn’t sure whether Sam is being serious or is trying to prank her, so she walks slowly towards him to be sure. When she gets there, she lays her eyes on a large metal sign, once placed on top of one of the buildings is now resting against the weathered brick wall. Although some of the bold lettering was either chipped, loose or missing, it’s still clear to see what it says:

“Sawyer and Kramer Timber Logging Co.”

“This must be the name of the place, didn’t catch the name when I was looking up this place.” Sam comments. As they look down at the dilapidated sign, Kris thinks she hears rustling coming from the forest behind the sawmill. She scans the treeline and sees no one or nothing unusual. She doesn’t know why, but she gets the feeling that they’re being watched. Though there’s nothing to indicate it, it’s still enough for the weary girl to think that it’s time for them to go.

Kris faintly asks, “Sam… I-I think we’ve seen enough stuff. Maybe we can head back to the lake?” Sam can sense that Kris is becoming uneasy, and not wanting to get her any more frightened or have her day ruined, Sam compiles… but not without taking a souvenir first. And his lizard brain quickly thinks of the perfect souvenir.

Sam kneels down and grabs hold of the “S” in Sawyer before effortlessly peeling it off its original spot with his monstrous strength. He then goes over to the “K” in Kramer and rips it off its position as well. Kris looks at Sam with a puzzled look and asks, “Why?”

“Simple, there’s the letter K and the letter S and I think it’d be cool to have these in our rooms, don’t ya think?” Sam is awfully pleased for thinking of obtaining such a memento.

“I-Is that safe to do…?” The human says, to which Sam spouts, “Yeah, it's totally fine to take anythin’ you want from here. Most people loot stuff from here ‘cause - hey - ‘abandoned.’”

With some souvenirs in tow, the duo completes their exploration of the old sawmill and head back to the lake, just like Kris asked for. On their way back, they come across the stark remains of what was once the sawing mill. There, Kris and Sam see that the ground surrounding it was littered with pieces of wood and scrap. There’s even a giant circular saw blade laying flat on the ground. That’s when Sam notices something that gets his attention.

“Oooooooohhhh, sweet!” Sam trots towards a big hunk of wood, which has a hand ax embedded in its top. He grabs it, and with a quick tug pulls it out of its original home. The fancied firebreather looks at the abandoned tool; its handle was a light-colored wood, varnished yet somewhat worn. The blade was a dark-grey, its end slightly chipped but not dull.

“Now we’ll definitely need this,” Sam comments as he looks at his newly claimed hatchet. “Here, take these letters.” the dragon requests, handing the letters to Kris, who grabs them. Sam shakes the hatchet around and his eyes scan the surrounding grass in search of something. Sam begins to pick up pieces of wood that have not been badly burnt. “These’ll make some good firewood,” he remarks.

By the end of it, Sam manages to get 6 good pieces of wood to use. “Alright, let’s go.”

Sam and Kris make their way back to the car, where Sam presses the button on his keys to unlock his vehicle with two quick beeps. At this time, Kris asks if Sam has anything else planned for them since they’ve finished exploring the sawmill. “Of course! Since I knew we’d be here a while and it’d get pretty late, I thought it’d be fun to hang out in the woods.”

He opens the back seat and tugs the heavy bag out of the comfort of the leather seating and slings it over his shoulder. Kris now understands what the deal is with the backpack. Sam takes a moment to place his newest treasures in the trunk and rummage through his toolbox. There, he grabs the flashlight he remembered earlier and something else.

“Oh, by the way, I think you should hold onto this.” Sam tosses the object to Kris, who catches it with ease. Kris looks at what’s tossed to her, and sees that it’s a folding pocket knife, with a dark wood handle and gold etchings. Another gift from Asgore to Sam as a sign of good faith and bonding between the two. She looks up at Sam quizzingly. “I saw that you were gettin’ all creeped out over there, and though I doubt anythin’ will happen to us while we’re out here, better to be safe than sorry, y’know?”

Kris and Sam share a caring look at each other, the human girl ever so thankful of the Angel for blessing her with such a caring person as her boyfriend. “Thank you, Sammy…” Kris thanks her dragon. “Ah, don’t even worry about it.” as he scratches the back of his head. “You do know how to work one of those things, right?”

Kris fiddles with the pocket knife in her hands, slowly lifting the blade into its place. “I guess you do.” Sam chuckles. Kris smiles as she places the blade back into the handle, kneels down, lifts up her pant leg, and slides the knife’s clip onto her sock. The knife secure, she gets back up and gives Sam a thumbs up. “C’mon, there should be some good spots this way.” Sam embarks towards the woods until he feels a small tug at his sleeve. Sam turns to see a sheepish Kris move her hair aside to reveal her ruby-gem eyes.

“B-Before we do, c-can we… stay by the lake to watch the sunset together… p-please?” a blush forms on Kris’ cheeks as she looks away. Sam looks over to see that, with the clouds out of the way, the sun is indeed beginning to settle into the horizon, sinking into the treeline across the lake.

From Sam’s perspective, it’s easy for him to see how immaculate the view is, with pink fluffy clouds in the sky and the light from the sun dancing across the lake’s surface. That’s when the idea of sharing this moment with his girl by his side in a romantic setting makes the dragon’s cheeks feel warm. “S-Sure, I’m down with that.” Sam agrees, a half-smile on his face, and Kris smiling back at her dragon.

The two get on top and sit on the hood of his car. Kris scooches closer to Sam, and Sam slings his arm over her, keeping his timid treasure close to his side. They watch as the warm, golden sun sinks behind the silhouetted tree line, and the sky change from a mellow peach and yellow to a beautiful twilight. If they squint their eyes hard enough they could see stairs faintly prick through what remained of the sun’s light.

As they took in the view, Sam looked down at Kris, who looked up to Sam. After staring at each other, their faces inch closer, and the two lovers share an intimate kiss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It is now the dead of night. The moon is up in the night sky for all to see, shining its silvery light down on everything it touches. Tens of thousands of twinkling stars dot the sky like salt sprinkled on obsidian. It’s a view that one could only describe as ‘sublime,’ which makes it feel all the more worth it for Sam, who spent quite a bit of time looking for a perfect spot in the woods that doesn’t have any pesky branches to obscure the night’s sky and to not catch fire from the campfire he's made with a bit of know-how and his fire breath.

The dragon swiftly hacks another chunk of the wood he scavenged by the sawmill with a grunt and tosses it into the crackling fire. He also tosses in a large handful of twigs and sticks for some tinder and kindling, generously provided by nature.

Kris silently watches on a log as the dragon keeps the fire going, enjoying the warmth that the blaze provides. She also takes the time to grab the hot dog that sits by her side and take a bite out of it. Turns out that all that’s in Sam’s backpack is a smorgasbord of convenient store goodies he got from ’Sans. Chips, sodas, and – strangely enough – some hotdogs; pre-packaged in a plastic casing. Kris was a bit speculative at first due to the strange nature of their preparation, but after heating them up by the fire, she now has to admit that they taste pretty good.

“So, what’d I say about the hot dogs, pretty good?” Sam asks with a knowing smirk as he sits down on the hunk of oak to accompany Kris. Kris, whose mouth is currently full of buns and spiced meat, answers with a smile and a nod. “Heh, knew you would. I remember getting one from Sans one night, and offered it to me for some black chess piece I found on the street.”

Kris is perplexed by this, and swallows down her food to ask Sam, “Why?” “Not sure. I was just as confused as you are when he offered, but I was hungry at the time so I wasn’t gonna complain. All I do know is that the hot dog I ate that night was amazing. ” Sam relishes that moment like it was yesterday.

Kris quietly titters at Sam’s train of thought going towards food to munch on. A while after, the dragon and the human are sitting on the floor with their backs laying against the log they were previously sitting on. The fire is less than it was a while ago, but it still provides both warmth and light in the dark, chilling woods. The pair simply look up at the stars, enjoying both the view of the glittering lights and the comfort of one another.

“See those bundles over there? That’s Orion.” Kris points up at a cluster of sparkling stars, which Sam looks towards with squinted eyes and scrunched face. “Maaaybe…?” the dragon slurs as he tries to literally connect the dots. Kris is showing Sam some of the constellations in space, which was a favorite pastime for her and Asriel back when they were younger. Only difference is that Sam is no astrologist, so explaining what she sees takes some effort.

“See, those stars make up the arm and sword, and that curve is the hide of a lion.”

“ _Oooooohhh…_ I get it!” said Sam. “So does that make those stars right there his dick?”

Kris immediately ‘pffts’ at Sam’s crude joke, pushing him by the arm and making the dragon cackle like a goof. Once their laughter dies off, they continue to look up at the boundless atmosphere above in peaceful silence.

* _Sq-reeeeeeaaaaak_ *

Kris’ head immediately shoots up as her ears pick up a faint, but all too familiar sound, causing Sam to jolt in surprise. “Whoa, what’s wrong?” he asks. Kris doesn’t answer at first; instead, she gets on her knees and turns around to see into the blackened woods. With the campfire’s dwindling flame, the light from it only illuminates a few of the immediate trees surrounding them.

“Kris, what’s the deal?” Sam asks more abrasive, becoming concerned over Kris’ erraticness.

Kris finally answers. “T-That sound, I remember hearing it in that hole we saw; with the latter…”

“What sound?” Sam starts to feel like Kris is just messing with him again, especially after that spider thing she pulled, but with the panicky look on her face, that possibility goes out the window.

“L-Listen…” She wavers, pointing over to the direction of where she heard the noise. Sam moves in the same position as Kris and listens in closely. Other than the usual ambient sounds of the forest, the only other noise Sam hears is the crackling of the burning wood behind him. Until…

* _Sq-reeeaaak_ * pause… * _Sq-reeeaaak_ * pause... * _Sq-reeeaaak_ *

Sam does in-fact hear the noise, and looks to Kris to see if what he hears is right, to which she confirms with a nod of her head. He lends out his ear to listen in, but the noise is now gone. “Huh, weird. Probably just some animal.” Sam guesses, although the worrying look on Kris’ face shows that she isn’t so sure. “I-I’m not sure if any animals make that kind of noise.”

Although the dragon believes that Kris is just on edge over the eerie nature of the sawmill, Kris didn’t let up over being worried that something was in the forest. While Sam could roll his eyes and just tell Kris to stop being a baby, he doesn’t want to make her feel any more uncomfortable over disregarding her claims.

Sam lets out a heavy sigh and says, “Alright. I’ll head over there to see if there is anything out there. Gotta take a piss anyways.”

“T-Thank you, Sammy.”

The dragon rises to his feet, grabs the flashlight and hand ax just in case, and starts heading off towards where the noises came from. Sam lights his way towards where the noise came from, shining the light on the ground and a couple of trees. So far, he doesn’t see any kind of animal within the wooded area. In fact, it seems as though the forest was dead silent. There’s a certain level of ambiance that animals will maintain even if they detect humans around them.

And yet there was none of that; not a cricket, a bird, a cicada- Nothing. It gives Sam the perturbation that something else is here in these woods with him. “Gah, I’m letting the spooks get to me. I’m a hundred percent certain that it was just a field mouse runnin’ around here.” Sam grumbles to himself, mainly to keep his nerves down.

Sam is now in the thick of the first, still able to see where the fire is, but not by much given the trees blocking the view. After some further searching, he comes up empty on finding what the cause of the noise is. Well since he is already here, he may as well drain the eggplant. He walks over to a convenient tree, unzips his jeans, and lets it loose. The empty forest fills with the pitter-patter of his bladder’s contents hitting the bark. Once there’s nothing left, he gives his prick a shake, puts it in his pants, and zips it up. But out of nowhere, Sam gets a whiff of something foul, and it isn’t from the piss that he marked on the tree. It smelled… rotten.

The dragon’s snout goes into the air as he sniffs out where the foul odor was coming from. It doesn’t smell like shit from an animal, because there’s also a metallic sting to the smell as well. His nose leads him over to a nearby bush, where he can now hear the sound of flies buzzing. Curiosity starts to kill the dragon, who decides to walk over to the bush to see what it is. As he walks over, he can see what seems to be eyes glinting in the darkness from his flashlight, right by the bush. But these eyes aren’t alive. They’re glossy and vacant. They reside in the head of a deer, whose head lays against the ground.

“What the…?” Sam vocalizes confusion as he walks around the bush, but as his flashlight slowly reveals the culprit of the awful stench, his confusion turns into morbid shock.

There, the bloody body of the deer lays on its side… detached from the head save for a few tendons keeping it connected, showing that it’s entire neck cleanly sliced open. The side of its body is carved open, exposing its insides for the flies to take refuge in. Blood saturates the deer’s chestnut fur and the dirt around it, the outer edges a deeper crimson from oxidizing in the open air.

But what is most disturbing, is that no kind of intestines or other organs are inside its body, or anywhere to be seen by its body. Instead, the flayed fur and bones of other animals are stuffed into the exposed cavity, like a demented build-a-bear.

Sam has no words to describe what his eyes are looking at, his breath is caught in his throat. It’s like a crime scene of a homicide, but with the deer’s blood as an outline. No animal could do something like this, the cut on the neck is too clean to be the cause of any natural predator, as the same for its gaping wound on its gut. It looks as if a power tool was used to slaughter this creature.  
That’s when a familiar and haunting sound echoes through the silence.

* _Sq-reeeaaak_ *

Sam spins around, his nerves now completely on edge, as he shines his flashlight around the surrounding woods. “Wh-who's there?!” he yells, trying to sound threatening, but still clung with panic. The disquieted dragon darts his eyes, trying to spot someone or something hiding in the darkness. He tries to listen for the creaking noise, but the only thing he can hear is his heavy breathing and heartbeat.

That’s when his eyes land between two large oak trees. Even without the flashlight, the combination of Sam’s keen dragon sight and the dim of the moonlight show that figure stands 30 feet away from him, their outline darker than the midnight hour. Even with the manipulation of perspective, Sam can tell that it’s large, it’s humanoid, and it’s staring right at him.

Everything goes to a standstill. Absolute silence overtakes the woods. Sam and the shadowy figure staring down at each other, seemingly waiting for one or the other to make the first move. Although shaken to his core, Sam still has the intellect to know that he shouldn’t make any sudden moves. So Sam inches ever so slowly back, keeping his eyes on the dark figure.

Suddenly, his foot snags onto a branch and he stumbles to the ground. The instant Sam lands, the figure begins to charge at the fallen dragon, the squeaking coinciding with every other step. As Sam scrambles back to his feet, he notices the figure forcefully pulling something from an object they’re holding in their other hand.

That’s when he hears the telltale sound of an engine revving up.

* _Brrr_ * It rattles once.

* _Brrr_ * It rattles again.

* _Brvr **RRVRRVRRVRRR**_ *

“Oh FUCK!” Sam shouts in horror before he turns around and sprints to Kris, flying between the trees and quickly looking back. As soon as he sees Kris’ head, he yells at the top of his lungs,

“KRIIIIIS!”

Kris, who was waiting for Sam to return, snaps around in shock to see the dragon barreling towards her.

“KRIS, WE GOTTA GO. **NOW.** ” Sam yells with urgency, his face contorted with fear. Without a moment to respond, Kris is abruptly lifted up by her shoulders. Sam then slings his arm by her side and carries her under his arm like a bag of cement. Thinking fast, he kicks a mound of nearby dirt onto the fire to extinguish it, in hopes that the pursuer will lose them in the darkness.

Kris sees the ground underneath her shift and blur as Sam carries her away from where they just hung out. “S-Sam, your grip… i-it’s too tight… c-can’t breath…!” the poor girl pleads to the dragon, who is currently running for both their lives. However, the instinctual fear coursing through him doesn’t deter him away from Kris’ own safety, so without warning, he changes her position and slings her over his shoulder.

“KRIS… TELL ME IF YOU SEE THEM!” Sam spouts between heavy, panicked breaths as he sees his car make it into his line of sight. Kris, although bouncing around from Sam’s sprinting, manages to see behind him and can’t seem to see anyone behind them. Now at the car, Sam wastes no time and tosses Kris into the passenger's seat before running around and practically tossing himself into the driver’s seat.

As he fumbles with the keys, hands all a jitter, Kris finally manages to catch her breath and asks Sam what the hell is going on.

“Sam, what’s going on!” she asks, her voice full of concern and fright.

“There’s a fuckin’ maniac chasing us!” Sam finally explains, not screaming like before but his voice still full of pure panic.

For a moment, in the back of Kris’ head, she thinks that Sam is just messing with her as a means to get back at her for the spider. But his face is twisted in such horror that Kris has never seen before, especially for someone who’s as strong nerved as Sam. Eyes filled with alarm and fear, body shaking like a leaf. Kris quickly realizes that this isn’t a game, and that the severity of the situation is all too real.

Sam finally manages to stick the keys into the ignition with his shaky hand. He twists the keys to start the car, only to be met with the sound of it stalling “C’mon c’mon c’mon C’MON ‘CMON”. Sam’s voice rises with rage and anguish, realizing that the maniac could be near them at any moment. Sweet relief comes to the dragon as the car engine finally roars to life.

But then, Sam hears Kris let out a high-pitched shriek, as she points out the windshield and yells in a frightened voice,

“SAM!”

Sam looks, and his eyes meet upon something that makes his heart plummet into his stomach.

There, standing in front of the car and bathed in the blinding headlights, stands a lumbering man. His face is obscured by a black welding mask, but the rest of his attire is hard to distinguish due to Sam and Kris’ bodies being petrified with fear. But what CAN be distinguished is the large, handheld buzzsaw he holds in his hands, the blade smeared with blood.

 _ ***BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRVRRRRVRVVR***_ The masked menace revs his power tool and grinds it violently against the hood of the car, sending a cascade of sparks to fly all around.

Kris screams as she shields herself while Sam yells “SHIT!” His right arm lunges at the stickshift and pulls it into reverse, after which he firmly flings his right arm over Kris to secure her. Wasting no time, Sam floors it and reverses away from the maniac before veering to the left, shifting the car into drive, and peeling out of there, chunks of dirt and grass flying from the rear wheels.

Before sinking back into the woods from where they entered, Sam glances in his rearview mirror to see that the masked man is just standing there, his head slightly tilted to the side.

“W-Who was that?!” shouts Kris, looking at Sam for an answer. Sam however is more focused on getting as far as that demented being and these woods as fast as possible, keeping his eyes on the dirt path shone by the headlights as the dark woods around them blur by.

“I-I don’t fuckin’ know!” Sam shouts back, just as oblivious as his scared human. “Look, we gotta head back home and get the fuckin’ cops!”

“W-What about our stuff?” Kris asks in a shaky voice.

“KRIS. FORGET THE STUFF.” He growls at her, his voice filled with a mixture of anger and the wanting need of self-preservation. We gotta get out of-”

Suddenly, the car violently rumbles as it goes over some obstruction on the road, and the *PFFF PFFF PUH-PFFFFF PFFFFF* of all the tires fire off like the bang of a gun.  
The car suddenly becomes hard to maneuver, as it begins swerving erratically. Sam tries to control it, but it’s practically impossible to keep it on course. The out of control station wagon jerks to the right and goes off the dirt path they came from.

“SHIT, HOLD ON.” Sam smashes his foot onto the brake with a force that threatened to break it.

* _SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEE_ *

“SAM-!”

*K-THUNK*

* **CRRRSSCHHKHSSHKCHS** *

…

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if the story seems to cut off so abruptly, but it was hard writing this up while juggling other things, not to mention that it became super ambitious. A running theme with a lot of my stories, heh. Anyways, I just wanted to put out what I have right now, and later on I'll add the rest of the story. Hope you guys have a happy Halloween!
> 
> (This endnote will change once I update the rest of the story)


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